Combat Rules: Variant of "Fearful Harm and Great Danger"
This is my proposed combat system for our campaign. Basically, these variant rules are resolved like "Fearful Harm and Great Danger" in Comme Il Faut, but it's easier to adjudicate because I don't need any damn charts or graphs to do it. = Step 1: Initiative = Initiative goes in the order of Highest Perception to Lowest Perception, with GM-determined situational modifiers. A Person may delay their action and interrupt the declared action of a lower Perception with their delayed action. = Step 2: Declare Actions = If the action is an attack, determine if the attack is melee or ranged. * Ranged - Base difficulty is dependent on range: ** Point Blank (Poor), ** 25% Effective Range (Average), ** Effective Range (Good), ** 1.5 x Effective Range (Great), ** 2 x Effective Range (Exceptional), ** Maximum Range (Extraordinary). (slightly changed from canon) ** Cover adds 1 rank to the difficulty for partial cover (< 50% coverage), and 2 ranks to the difficulty for full cover (> 50% coverage). If target is completely out of LOS, then the difficulty is automatically Extraordinary. (non-canon) * Melee - Base difficulty is dependent on the target's combat skill. The target may add cards to defend better against a melee attack, per standard contested Feat test. * Athletics (special) - A particularly Nimble target may make an Athletics feat check to dodge attacks during a Combat Round, in lieu of attacking. (slightly changed from canon) In this case, the difficulty of the attack against this target is a typical contested Feat. = Step 3: Draw a Card = You may choose to use the drawn card to add to your attack (standard suit rules apply), or you may replace it with a Fortune Card from your hand. (changed from canon) = Step 4: Determine Effect = Compare the total vs. the difficulty: * Less than half = Fumble. In melee, this means the opponent may counteract you. * Less than Difficulty = Failure. No effect. Whiff. Swing and a miss. * Equal to Difficulty = Partial Success. Weapon deals base damage. * Greater than Difficulty = Success. For every 2 points above the Difficulty, the damage is staged up by one Rank. * Greater than or equal to 2 x Difficulty = Critical Success. GM may declare an Instant Incapacitation instead of a normal Wound. = Step 5: Save yourself! = You may play a Face card of any suit from your Fortune Hand to reduce the damage further by 1 Rank. You may play an Ace of any suit from your Fortune Hand to reduce the damage further by 2 Ranks. You may play a Joker from your Fortune Hand to reduce the damage further by 3 Ranks. This step may negate the damage entirely. = Step 6: Determine Damage = Base Damage will be by the Comme Il Faut Harm Ranks. The minimum amount of damage is Rank A. Each Rank corresponds to an Attribute Level: * Rank A = Poor * Rank B = Average * Rank C = Good * Rank D = Great * Rank E = Exceptional/Excellent * Rank F = Extraordinary Damage Levels: * Scratched - Only a Flesh Wound! * Wounded - Subtract 1 Rank from Abilities or add 1 Rank to Difficulty of tasks as appropriate. * Incapacitated - Subtract 2 Ranks from Abilities or Add 2 Ranks to Difficulty of tasks. Incapacitated folks are automatically knocked down, and may only move slowly, fight stationary in melee, or fire simple ranged weapons (guns). (changed from canon) * Mortally Wounded - Cannot act. May die. * Killed Instantly - Time to HOG. If the damage Rank matches the target's Physique (may substitute Courage for "stun" wounds) or is greater, then you score a Wound. If it is less than the Physique of the target, then they are Scratched (only a Flesh Wound!). Once you are Wounded, any additional damage (including scratches) may Incapacitate you. Once you are Incapacitated, any additional damage may make you Mortally Wounded (alt: Gravely Wounded). (changed from canon). Keep track of each "hit" that was taken, regardless of the damage level. Optional: In certain cases, I may make Critical Successes a higher wound level, such as Incapacitated or Mortally Wounded. This is to represent deadlier shots or attacks. In general, to keep combat fair and balanced, I won't invoke this rule against the PCs, although I may do this to "disposable" NPCs. Optional: When taking damage, you may make a Physique feat to prevent taking a greater wound level. This represents "toughing it out" with a stiff upper lip. For example, a Average person with an Average Physique can take up to 4 Scratches before becoming Wounded. On the 5th Scratch, the person may make a Physique feat to resist becoming wounded. He still will have 5 hits of damage (all scratches), but will not suffer the penalties for being Wounded. If he takes a 6th scratch, then he will become Wounded (unless he succeeds at another Physique feat). When making this test to prevent becoming Incapacitated or Mortally Wounded, use the Damage Rank of the attack instead of number of hits, or whichever is higher. = Special Cases = Dragons * Dragons deal damage based on their Physique (see Dragon page for details) * Dragon Firecast deals damage as follows to targets: ** Poor, Average - Rank D ** Good, Great - Rank E ** Exceptional, Extraordinary - Rank F * Every two Firecasts does a Harm Rank A damage hit to the dragon, ignoring armor (typically, this will end up being a Scratch). This is recovered at the rate of one damage point per day. * Whenever damage is dealt to a dragon, in any form, reduce the damage by one rank. This is after armor adjustments of any kind. Faeries * Iron and Steel weapons deal damage as if they were one Rank higher to Faeries. * Cold Iron deals a Rank A wound each minute of exposure to Faeries. Weapons made of Cold Iron deal damage as if they were three Ranks higher (up to F). Unravelling A Magician may liberate 2 Thaums per Rank A damage hit they take. This damage is not reduced by armor nor can one take a Physique feat to reduce the damage level. Per standard rules, a Magician will be Wounded if they have a Poor Physique, or take a number of scratches up to their Physique Rank (Good Physique = 6 Scratches) before they are Wounded. The next scratch will Incapacitate them (if they continue to unravel) and the scratch after that will Mortally Wound them (the spell must be cast at this point). = Weapons and Harm Ranks = On this table, several values are shown in parentheses. These values are the canon damage ranks and have been adjusted to their current values for Layflat Castle Falkenstein for balance purposes. Bows do damage according to the Physique of the user (same damage rank as a Blow), assuming the bow has been calibrated for the archer's strength. = Constitutional Shock = * Extremely Foul Language - Rank A * Great heat, cold, or too-tight corset - Rank A * Threatening gaze - Rank A * Rough treatment (grabbing, pushing, slapping) - Rank B Treat all damage results greater than Incapacitated as Incapacitated. As far as modern medical science is concerned, it is impossible to be Killed Instantly by Foul Language. = Environmental Hazards = * Falls - One Rank for every 20 feet fallen * Trampling, collisions - One Rank for every 100lbs of animal * Electrocution/Lightning strike - One Rank for every 200 volts per second * Fire/Firestorm/Acid - Rank B Critical per minute * Poison - Rank C per minute until antidote administered * Earthquake - Rank B per minute * Drowning/Suffocation - Rank E per minute = Recovery = * Constitutional Shocks - Minutes * Blows - Hours * Treated Wounds - Days * Untreated Wounds - Weeks * Wounds Treated by Sorcery - Hours The Time listed in the table above is the increment of time that must pass before your Damage Condition is reduced by one Rank. Category:House Rules